Tools for Regional Development

							      Tools for Regional
        Development
                     Thomas Wobben
         Representation of Saxony-Anhalt to the EU
                Boulevard Saint Michel 80
                     B-1040 Brussels
E-mail: thomas.wobben@lv-bruessel.stk.sachsen-anhalt.de



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Saxony-Anhalt
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Saxony-Anhalt in the Heart of Europe
The Challenge: Human Capital and Innovation



                                                 Altmarkkreis
                                                  Salzwedel                        Stendal




                                                      Ohrekreis
                                                                                    Jerichower Land




                                                                   Magdeburg

                                                    Bördekreis

                                  Halberstadt                                                   Anhalt-Zerbst
                                                                          Schönebeck

                                                          Aschersleben-
                                                             Staßfurt                               Dessau
                              Wernigerode                                                                                 Wittenberg
                                                                                         Köthen
                                            Quedlinburg                   Bernburg

                                                                                                     Bitterfeld
                                                          Mansfelder Land
                                                                                  Saalkreis

                                                Sangerhausen                            Halle



                                                                          Merseburg-Querfurt
                                                                                                                  Regionalvergleich 1) (Rankingergebnisse)
                                                                                                                  der Indikatorengruppe

                                                                                        Weißenfels
                                                                                                                           1,20 und mehr
                                                                       Burgen-
                                                                      landkreis                                            1,00 bis 1,20
                                                                                                                           0,80 bis 1,00




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   Quelle: Berechnungen isw Institut gGmbH
               Key factors for competitiveness

• SME innovation capacity directly linked to:

    – Co-operation with other firms: firms learn best from other firms

    – Co-operation with the public sector and the R&TDI
      intermediaries & Infrastructures: technology centres, universities,
      polytechnics, business services…

• Translate ‘knowledge’ into GDP:

    Innovation Strategies are an efficient instrument to create Regional
    Innovation Systems = territorial systems that efficiently create, diffuse and
    exploit knowledge than enhances regional competitiveness




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    Regional bottlenecks regarding networking
         and clustering in Saxony-Anhalt

• destruction of previous (formal and informal) business
  networks during the process of economic transformation
  after German unification (typical for this kind of
  transformation process)
• lack of personal contacts/information about
  partners/actors in the region
• low willingness for co-operation (no moderators
  available, lack of mutual trust)
• lack of interregional contacts (low export orientation)
• lack of spill-over effects of major regional investment
  projects for local businesses

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              Challenge of Halle/Leipzig

• around 2.7 Million inhabitants
• economic entity overlapping two German Länder
  (Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt)
• high population density, high economic concentration of
  enterprises in the chemical and energy sector
• major economic restructuring taking place since 1991:
  more than 160 investment projects over 25 MECU each
  were realised since 1991 amounting to 34 Billion EURO
  (total amount of investments in the region: 50 Billion
  EURO)
• new sectors were developed, such as pharmaceuticals
  or information-technologies and media services

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           Tool: Networking for Innovation

• step-by-step confidence building measures in the region
  (personal contacts)

• integration of leading companies/science institutions in
  the networking exercise and close interaction between
  network activities in working groups and a joint steering
  group

• efficiency orientation in the network actions

• close involvement in the innovation and regional policies
  of both regional governments/parliaments/monitoring
  committees

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The physical network



                 Chemical Industry in
                 Central Germany:

                 • 7 chemical sites
                 • highly interlinked
                 • in three German regions




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Setting up joint working groups on site development in
                   Central Germany




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          CeChemNet as a networking example



              Poland                                 Czech


                             Industrial Sites



               Chemical                         Small & Medium
               Industries                         Enterprises

Estonia                        Chemical                             Slovakia
                               Triangle
             Training and    East Germany         Universities
              Education


                              Institutes +
                             Organizations
           Other countries                        Other countries
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…from regional
networking

to

interregional co-
operation…




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            Tool: Regional Management System

Partner:

    – City of Halle
    – 6 counties around Halle

Working Structure:

    –   Steering Group
    –   Regional Conference (annually)
    –   Regional Association (for co-operation project)
    –   Regional Forum for Central Germany (political platform)
    –   Business Initiaitive Central Germany (business initiavtive)

Regional Management

    – Coordinating office (rresponsible for the day to day management)



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  Objective of the Regional Management System

Objective:

    –    Promote regional thinking versus focus on individual interests
    –    Include urban and rural dimension
    –    Define joint priorities and carry out joint planning
    –    Consensus building and joint articulation
    –    Regional Management as an initiator for joint co-operation
    –    Regional Management as a tool for interregional co-operation


Tools:

    –    Regular Meetings of decision makers
    –    Partnership of local authorities, businesses and civic society
    –    Information and joint campaigns
    –    Regional and interregional Benchmarking

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Business Initiative „Central Germany“




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                           Conclusions
• Regional co-operation is essential for efficient regional development

• Regional partnerships can have an impact on regional development
  strategies

• Success orientation and delivery are crucial for sustainability

• Business can play a major role in overcoming local barriers

• There is no golden rule – everybody has to find once own solution

• But there are a lot of experiences to learn from



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Thank you for your attention!




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